Sir Norman Wisdom
Desert Island Discs
BBC
4.4 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 6 August 2000
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actor and comedian Sir Norman Wisdom. His cloth cap and tight-fitting jacket became his screen trademark in the 1950s and 1960s and characters like Norman Pitkin won him fans all over the world. Sir Norman talks to Sue Lawley about a career that's spanned more than 60 years and chooses eight records to take with him the mythical island.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Don't Laugh at Me 'Cos I'm a Fool by Norman Wisdom Book: Reach for the Skies by Sir Douglas Bader Luxury: Pot of stew with two dumplings
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello I'm Krestey Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive |
| 0:05.0 | for rights reasons we've had to shorten the music. |
| 0:08.0 | The program was originally broadcast in the year 2000 and the presenter was Sue Lawley. My castaway this week is an entertainer for For more than 50 years he's played the part of the plucky little man who wins against the odds. |
| 0:38.0 | Ever so clumsy, but with the big heart he's the archetypal underdog, a perfect British hero. |
| 0:44.0 | It's a performance which has some echoes of real life in it. |
| 0:48.0 | His childhood was full of hardship and deprivation. |
| 0:51.0 | He once walked from London to Cardiff to become a miner and ended up as a cabin boy on a voyage to Argentina. |
| 0:57.0 | But it was in the army that he found companionship and the talent which has supported him ever since. |
| 1:02.0 | A favorite of the Queen Mother, supported him ever since. |
| 1:02.6 | A favourite of the Queen Mother, he was knighted this summer and appeared as one of the |
| 1:06.7 | star attractions in her birthday pageant. |
| 1:09.5 | He is Sir Norman wisdom. |
| 1:11.8 | It's surprising really Norman that the Royal Family had you round |
| 1:15.3 | isn't it because didn't you break all the vases last time you went to Buckingham Palace |
| 1:19.6 | or Windsor Castle? I was sorry I kind of love and when you say Sir Norman. You haven't got used to it yet? |
| 1:25.0 | Most people are still saying Titch. |
| 1:27.0 | Come on, tell me about breaking the vases. |
| 1:30.0 | Oh yeah, well I did a private show at Windsor Castle. the the center was just about four steps going down. And when I'd finished my |
| 1:45.4 | act as it were, Queen was sitting there and applauding, and I turned around and |
| 1:51.8 | started to go up the steps and I suddenly thought, |
| 1:54.0 | he wait a minute, what do you do? |
| 1:55.6 | You can't turn you back on the Queen? |
... |
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